IHRM 481 01W

Child Labour Aggicultural Industry Sugarcane Plantations El Salvador

Paola Solano

Paola Solano 2
IHRM 481 01W
Child Labour Agricultural Industry (Sugarcane Plantations) In El Salvador

What is child labour? According to the ILO organization the term child labour
is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their
dignity, and that which is harmful to physical and mental development. In other words,
this refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful
to children. This also interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the
opportunity to attend school; obligating them to leave school prematurely; or requiring
them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
There are a few levels to child labour, the most extreme forms involve children
being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses
and/or left by themselves on the streets of large cities (often at a very early age). Its
important to know that child labour is not just regular work, or having a child help his/her
parents around the house with something that requires minimal effort instead child
labour depends on the childs age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions
under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The
answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.
I was born in El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America. I recall my
family and I traveled to different places every weekend; one time we went to a place
called Sonsonate (a state of El Salvador), as we were on our way back home I
remember we drove by a huge plantation. I asked my parents what that place was, my
parents replied, Its a sugarcane plantation, thats where the sugarcane you and your
brother eat comes from. I was about 6 or 7 years old at the time and I liked eating

Paola Solano 3
IHRM 481 01W
sugarcane, even though I didnt eat it that often. Now that I am an adult and discovered
that in El Salvador there used to be incredible amounts of children working in the
agricultural industry, I cant help but think about all the times I ate sugarcane and wonder
if someone my age couldve been the person behind the scenes making it possible for us,
the consumers, to have it. Learning about the yearlong process it takes to plant and cut
sugarcane its evident that this is not a job for children.
Sugarcane is one of the three traditional export crops in Salvadorian agriculture,
and it holds great importance for the economy and employment market in the country.
The sugar industry contributes 2.3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and 20% of
the agricultural GDP. (Sugar Industry). Currently, there are over 7,000 sugarcane
producers who are responsible for over 90% of the domestic production of this crop.
Some 60% of these farmers are organized in cooperatives established by the agrarian
reform, and the remaining 40% are independent producers, mainly small and mediumsize farmers. The sugar industry directly generates over 50,000 jobs, as well as up to
200,000 indirectly. Additionally, calculations suggest that seven individuals benefit from
each job created. (Sugar Industry). There are currently 6,381,751 habitants in El
Salvador therefore the statistics stated above reflect its importance to the country.
The social role of the sugar industry can be seen principally in its incomedistribution system, through which sugarcane producers receive 54.5% of the cost per
pound. This includes but is not limited to producers who grow, harvest, and transport
cane from field to mills. On the other hand, the sugar mills receive 45.5% of the net
income generated by the sale of sugar and molasses produced by the industry. This which
includes, but is also not limited to mills that refines, packages, and sells the processes

Paola Solano 4
IHRM 481 01W
product to consumers at home and abroad. Sugarcane plantations not only produce for El
Salvador citizens, but also worldwide through exports to China, the U.S., etc. The
following graph illustrates production levels, exports, and national consumption from

1999 until 2015.

The sugar production year runs from November 1 through October 31 of the
following year, and is divided into two large periods. The harvest period includes the
summer, or dry season, and during this period the crop is harvested in the field and
processed in the mills. This period runs approximately from November to April.
The non-harvest period runs from May through October, and coincides with the rainy
season. During this period, farmers work to plant new areas, renew their plantations, or
maintain the appropriate conditions for optimal cane growth. During the non-harvest
period, the mills work to disassemble, repair, and improve their factory leading up to the
next harvest and processing period.

Paola Solano 5
IHRM 481 01W
Children who work on sugarcane plantations often miss the first several weeks or
months of school. For example, a teacher in a rural community north of the capital San
Salvador estimated that about 20 percent of her class did not attend school during the
harvest. Other children drop out of school altogether. (El Salvador: Child Labor on
Sugar Plantations - Foreign Firms Use End Product of Childrens Hazardous Work).
Some children who want to attend school are driven into hazardous work because it is the
only way their families can afford the cost of their education. Sugarcane cultivation
covers three percent of the countrys farmland, and child labour is a reason why this is
possible. The following graph illustrates the percentage of working children in 3 different
industries.

As illustrated in the graph above, 56% - which is over half of the total number of
children - work in the agricultural industry in El Salvador. The sugar industry generates
50,000 direct jobs in El Salvador, although 18,000 of them are seasonal, out of a total of
250,000 people working in the sector. The severe poverty suffered by many rural families
keeps child labour alive, despite the risky work and heavy, long workdays.

Paola Solano 6
IHRM 481 01W
Based on the data above, sugarcane production is one of the top industries, which
take advantage of child labour. A sugarcane cutter earns around 200 dollars a month, said
workers interviewed by IPS. In this Central American country of 6.3 million people, 38
percent of the population lives in rural areas, where 36 percent of the households are
poor, above the national average of 29.6 percent, according to official statistics from
2013.
Child labour in El Salvador is predominantly male, with boys comprising more
than three-fourths of child laborers ages 5 to 17. Boys also have a tendency of getting
recruited into gang activity, or are threatened by gangs while at school. Most girls are
involved in other forms of child labour, such as domestic service; they do not attend
school either because they have childcare responsibilities while their mothers work. Also,
50 percent of sex trafficking victims in El Salvador are girls ages 13-18.
Up to one-third of the workers on El Salvadors sugarcane plantations are children
under the age of 18, many of whom began to work in the fields between the ages of eight
and thirteen. The International Labor Organization estimates that at least 5,000 and as
many as 30,000 children under age 18 work on Salvadorian sugar plantations. (El
Salvador: Child Labor on Sugar Plantations - Foreign Firms Use End Product of
Childrens Hazardous Work). Medical care is often not available on the plantations, and
children must frequently pay for the cost of their medical treatment, which is very costly
but a lot less than that in the United States. They are not reimbursed by their employers
despite a provision in the Salvadorian labor code that makes employers responsible for
medical expenses resulting from on-the-job injuries.

Paola Solano 7
IHRM 481 01W
As stated earlier, Salvadorian sugar is consumed nationally and also exported. The
Coca Cola Company is one of the biggest contributors in purchasing sugar, ultimately not
doing anything to stop child labour. Being knowledgeable on the matter, Coca Cola is
well aware that harvesting cane requires children to use machetes and other sharp knives
to cut sugarcane and strip the leaves off the stalks, work they perform for up to nine hours
each day in the hot sun. In the report done by Human Rights Watch Organization
Turning a Blind Eye: Hazardous Child Labour in El Salvadors Sugarcane Cultivation,
nearly every child interviewed said that he or she had suffered machete gashes on the
hands or legs while cutting cane. These risks led one former labor inspector to
characterize sugarcane as the most dangerous of all forms of agricultural work
(Turning a Blind Eye - Hazardous Child Labor in El Salvadors Sugarcane
Cultivation). Keeping in mind that there is no medical care on the plantations. In
addition, because cane is often burned before it is cut to clear away the leaves, workers
risk smoke inhalation and sometimes suffer burns of their feet.
Coca Cola does not own any of the plantations, nor does it buy cane directly from
plantations that force child labor. However, instead Coca Cola buys the sugar milled from
the cane from El Salvadors largest sugar mill, Central Izalco. Central Izalco, located in
the Department of Sonsonate, purchases sugarcane from at least four plantations that use
child labor in violations of the law. Its evident that Coca Cola was unethical through
their contribution and Turning a Blind Eye in order to avoid solving this abuse against
innocent children. This occurs because it is to their benefit; some of the children working
at these plantations do not receive a single penny because they are called ayudantes or
helpers so they are looked at as volunteers.

Paola Solano 8
IHRM 481 01W
Below are some testimonials from people interviewed in the Turning a Blind Eye
report
1. Alma S., a 15 year old from a rural community north of San Salvador, planted
sugarcane in December 2002 and January 200
a. "An hacienda close to here came looking for women to go plant," she told
Human Rights Watch. "We took the crude cane, and the machine would
come along, a tractor, making rows for the cane. We planted the cane in
the rows behind itThe machine doesn't stop, and one has to go along
quickly. At the beginning we planted five manzanas in a day, and later it
was four manzanas."(A manzana is an area equal to 7,000 square meters,
about the size of a soccer field.)
b. The workers ranged in age from nine to sixty years old, Alma said. They
worked from 5:30 a.m. until about 11 a.m. To get to work, Alma walked an
hour and a half, leaving her house between 3:30 and 4 a.m. "The first few
days felt hard, but then one became accustomed to it," she said. "I had
huge blisters and scars on my hands, especially on my palms, the first
day."
2. Carlos T., an eleven-year-old in Sonsonate
a. He did work during the harvest. "I grab the cane, cut it; grab it, cut it. I use
a chumpa," a small knife. He began cutting cane when he was nine. "Last
year was the second year I worked," he said. "I would leave the house at 5
a.m. "The fields were spread out over a large area. "When it was far away,
we would go by bus; when it was close, we would walk. If we only had
one tarea, we would finish early. We could do three. "Literally "work" or

Paola Solano 9
IHRM 481 01W
"job," a tarea in the sugarcane harvest is an area of land that contains
approximately two tons of sugarcane.
Carlos T. was a helper. He worked in the plantations because his father worked
there, his father got paid, and he did not. At least five thousand boys and girls work in
the sugarcane harvest in El Salvador, a 2003 baseline study by the ILO's International
Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) found. Other studies have
concluded that in addition to that number, another 25,000 children are "indirectly
involved," meaning those who "accompany their parents or family members and help
them with different tasks involved in the harvest. (Turning a Blind Eye - Hazardous
Child Labor in El Salvadors Sugarcane Cultivation). There is a serious social
responsibility problem going on, there was a lot of controversy going on with Coca Cola
because at the time, they had established in their corporate social responsibility tasks that
they would not work with anyone whom was supportive of child labour in sugarcane
plantations, so they had to investigate Central Izalco and solve this issue. Obviously,
Coca Cola was smart enough to not fully ruin their reputation worldwide; however, it was
damaged in Latin America.
Aside from Coca Cola there are other worldwide companies that contribute to
Child Labour such as The North Face, except this one contributing in the textile industry.
Salvadoran Women Sewing $165 Jackets for The North Face and $54 Shirts for Eddie
Bauer Cannot Afford Milk for their Children. (Another CAFTA Failure Salvadorian
Women Sewing $165 Jackets for The North Face and $54 Shirts for Eddie Bauer Cannot
Afford Milk for their Children). The North Face accounts for 80% of their production.

Paola Solano 10
IHRM 481 01W
Women are paid just 94 cents for each $165 North Face jacket they sew this means that
their wages amount to less than six-tenths of one percent of the jackets retail price.
At work, these women have to deal with sexual harassment from their
supervisors, they are forced to work overtime, they drip on their own sweat due to the
100 degree temperatures, they face harsh and abusive treatment, this company is in denial
of the right of freedom of association. The government must do something to fix this, it is
said that The North Face and Eddie Bauer perform audits every 3 months; however, when
they are present the supervisors behave as decent people.
Its more than clear that whether it is in the agricultural industry or the textile
industry, employees and helpers are working under poor and unsafe conditions. So what
is being done to solve this? The Salvadorian Government along with the ILO and HRW
allied in helping solve this huge problem. According to official statistics from the
Ministry of Education in El Salvador, child labor in the sugarcane industry dropped by 70
percent between 2003 and 2008. About twelve years ago, Human Rights Watch
investigated the use of child labor on El Salvadors sugarcane plantations and found that
thousands of children were working in extremely hazardous conditions.
In response to Human Rights Watchs report, Turning a Blind Eye, the Ministry
of Labor in El Salvador directed sugar plantations to remove child workers from the
sugarcane harvest. While the 2008 numbers were encouraging, Human Rights Watch has
pressed the Ministry of Labor to do more to ensure that children are reintegrated into
schools.

Paola Solano 11
IHRM 481 01W

As illustrated in the table above, only 6.3 percent of children are working; only
children over the age of 14 are allowed to work. 92.2 Percent of children are enrolled and
attend school. If we look at the working (% of population) and Combining work and
school (%) there is only a total of 0.1 more that is only working and not attending school.
This is a great improvement compared to what the numbers were before any laws and
regulations were enforced.
El Salvador is one of five countries in Latin America to participate in an
International Labor Organization Time-Bound Program, an initiative to address the worst
forms of child labor. But officials in the Salvadoran Ministry of Labor told Human Rights
Watch that most children who cut cane are simply their parents helpers. Human
Rights Watch urged El Salvadors sugar mills, Coca-Cola Co. and other businesses that
purchase Salvadoran sugar to incorporate international standards in their contractual
relationships with suppliers and require their suppliers to do the same throughout the
supply chain. (Child Labor in Sugarcane Plantations in El Salvador Drops by 70%).
UN Global Compact of international labor standards for business since this took place
years ago, Coca Cola has a modified their goals and objectives and also established new
guidelines as to whom they do business with. These businesses adopted effective
monitoring systems to verify that labor conditions on their suppliers sugarcane

Paola Solano 12
IHRM 481 01W
plantations comply with international standards. Now, companies are required to allow
their employees to take break after x amount of time at work, voluntary over-time, safer
working conditions, and better compensation and benefits, the amount that they are paid
also increased.
I had to turn 18 before I could start working as a cane cutter, added 22-year-old
Prez This is a testimony from someone in 2015. This was possible not only through the
ILO but also through other start up organizations Salvadoran Sugar Industry Council
(CoNSaa), jointly adopted a code of conduct in 2006. Many organizations assisted with
this and promoted a 0 tolerance for Child Labour. There was a significant improvement
according to the AAES the number of children working on sugarcane plantations fell
from 12,000 in 2004 to 3,470 in 2009, a 72 percent drop. During the 2013-2014 harvest,
only 700 children under 18 were reported a 92 percent drop in 10 years. The 2013
household survey found that 144,168 children and adolescents between the ages of five
and 17 were involved in child labour a nearly 12 percent reduction from 2012.
Since 2009, when the left-wing Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front
(FMLN) came to power, the government outlined a plan to eradicate the worst forms of
child labour this year, with a goal to totally eliminate it by 2020, in a joint effort with a
wide range of economic and social sectors. It is safe to say that El Salvador has been
enforcing all laws that involve child labour. The country is working on completely
eliminating this issue and although it probably sounds unrealistic for an underdeveloped
country to accomplish this, it is evident that the numbers of those children involved have
dropped drastically.

Paola Solano 13
IHRM 481 01W

Works Cited Page

Definition
What is Child Labour?. ILO.Org. International Labour Organization. N.D. Web. 18
February 2016.
http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.htm

Women exploitation The North Face

Another CAFTA Failure Salvadoran Women Sewing $165 Jackets for The North Face
and $54 Shirts for Eddie Bauer Cannot Afford Milk for their Children.
GlobalLabourRights.Org. Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights. 22 May 2008.
Web. 18 February 2016.
http://www.globallabourrights.org/reports/another-cafta-failure-2008

Child labor agriculture

El Salvador - 2014 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor Significant
Advancement. DOL.Gov. United States Department of Labor - Bureau of International
Labor Affairs. N.D. Web. 18 February 2016.
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/el_salvador.htm

Sugarcane Plantations

Paola Solano 14
IHRM 481 01W
El Salvador: Child Labor on Sugar Plantations - Foreign Firms Use End Product of
Childrens Hazardous Work. Hrw.org. Human Rights Watch. 9 June 2004. Web. 18
February 2016.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/06/09/el-salvador-child-labor-sugar-plantations

Child labor drops 70%

Child Labor in Sugarcane Plantations in El Salvador Drops by 70% Hrw.org. Human
Rights Watch. 16 September 2009. Web. 18 February 2016.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/09/16/child-labor-sugarcane-plantations-elsalvador-drops-70

Turning a Blind Eye Report

Turning a Blind Eye - Hazardous Child Labor in El Salvadors Sugarcane Cultivation
Hrw.org. Human Rights Watch. 9 June 2004. Web. 18 February 2016.
https://www.hrw.org/report/2004/06/09/turning-blind-eye/hazardous-child-laborel-salvadors-sugarcane-cultivation

Child labor Agriculture

Doherty, Michelle. Topical Research Digest: Human Rights and Contemporary
Slavery. DU. Edu. University of Denver. ND. Web 18 February 2016.
http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/slavery/elsalvador.pdf

Paola Solano 15
IHRM 481 01W
General Info on Sugarcane Industry
Sugar Industry. AzucarDeElSalvador.com. Azucar De El Salvador Sabe a Progreso.
N.D. Web 18 February 2016.
http://azucardeelsalvador.com/en/sugar-industry-in-el-salvador/

Child Labour Eliminated by 2020

Ayala, Edgardo and Claudia Avalos. Taking Child Workers Out of El Salvadors
Sugarcane Fields. IPDSNEWS.net. Inter Press Service News Agency. N.D. Web 18
February 2016.
http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/04/taking-child-workers-out-of-el-salvadors-sugarcane-fields/

Azucar de El Salvador Graphs

General Statistics (1999 2015) Online Image. AzucarDeElSalvador.com. 18 February
2016. <http://azucardeelsalvador.com/protegiendo-el-medio-ambiente/>

Poblacion de El Salvador
Reloj De Poblacion De El Salvador. CountryMeters.info. Country Meters. N.D. Web.
11 March 2016.
http://countrymeters.info/es/El_Salvador

Child Labor Coffee Industry

Paola Solano 16
IHRM 481 01W
Weller, Nathan. Sugar and El Salvadors Economic and Social Woes: Not Just a Tempest
in Your Coffee Cup Ecoviva.Org. Ecoviva - Community-Led Initiatives for a Sustainable
Future. 18 December 2015. Web. 9 March 2016.
http://ecoviva.org/sugar-sustainability-society-part-iii/

Coca-Cola Company http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/workplace-overview/

Social Corporate Responsibility -